Geographic Range
The geographic region of western tanagers (
Piranga ludoviciana
) follows the forest, ranging from the western coasts of North America and Central
America from Alaska all the way to Panama. This region stretches as far east as the
Northwest Territories in Canada and the western edge of North Dakota, Nebraska, and
Texas. Their main residency and breeding territory is in the far northern region of
Canada and they migrate south during the winter. However, they have been known to
breed in their wintering regions of South America.
- Biogeographic Regions
- nearctic
- ethiopian
- neotropical
Habitat
Western tanagers arrive in their breeding grounds in the spring and breed in open
coniferous forests and mixed woodlands. They leave the northern locations in late
summer and spend the winters in the open mountain pine woodlands, parks, gardens,
desert oases, riparian areas, and orchards. In their wintering range, they occupy
pine and pine-oak woodlands as well as low-canopied scrub forests. They have been
seen in elevations as high as 10,000 feet and as low as 330 feet.
- Habitat Regions
- tropical
- terrestrial
- Terrestrial Biomes
- taiga
- forest
- scrub forest
- mountains
- Other Habitat Features
- riparian
Physical Description
Western tanagers average around 18 cm in length, with an average weight of 28 grams.
They have a wingspan of approximately 28 to 30 cm, with rounded wings and a fan-shaped
tail. Their bill is an all-purpose beak, meaning they can catch food, build a nest,
preen, dig holes, and care for their young. Their eyes are sepia brown in adolescent
birds, grayish brown or black in adult males, and reddish brown to burnt umber in
adult females. Among males, their breast is primarily yellow, their back and wings
are primarily black, and their entire head is red. Their wings have two bright yellow
wing bars. Females are pale in comparison, with an olive green upper back and head.
Their wings are grey with two wing bars and their tails are greyish brown or olive
green. After hatching, young have white or pale gray down on their head, back, and
wings, and their wing bars become visible after 10 days.
- Other Physical Features
- endothermic
- bilateral symmetry
- Sexual Dimorphism
- sexes colored or patterned differently
- male more colorful
Reproduction
Western tanagers are monogamous. Pairs form during migration or on the wintering grounds,
mostly in South America. Pairs that form on the wintering grounds may migrate together
to the breeding grounds. Males establish and defend their territory by singing and
chasing away intruders. However, males are not known to perform any displays to attract
mates.
- Mating System
- monogamous
The earliest birds may arrive on the breeding grounds in April, while most birds arrive
by early May. On average, females and first-year males arrive at breeding grounds
later. Both sexes are sexually mature after two years. Although western tanagers are
socially monogamous, males are known to move outside the territory they defend to
mate with other females. Females build small cup-like nests from grass and twigs in
about 4 to 5 days. Males feed the females during the nest building and the egg laying
process. On average, the eggs are 23 mm long, about 3.35 grams, and are pale blue
or bluish green. The eggs are blotched with brownish speckles that form a thick wreath
around the larger end of the egg. Females lay around 3 to 5 eggs, which takes about
a day per egg. The eggs are incubated by the female for approximately 13 days. The
young are fed by both parents and fledge within 15 days. The young do not become independent
until about two weeks after fledging. Western tanagers may leave their breeding grounds
as early as July, but typically do not begin migration until August.
- Key Reproductive Features
- iteroparous
- seasonal breeding
- gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate)
- sexual
- oviparous
Female western tanagers incubate the eggs alone, but both males and females feed the
young. Both parents continue feeding the fledglings for about two more weeks after
they have left the nest. The young are known to stay on the breeding grounds even
after the adults have left.
- Parental Investment
- altricial
- male parental care
- female parental care
-
pre-hatching/birth
-
provisioning
- female
-
protecting
- male
-
provisioning
-
pre-weaning/fledging
-
provisioning
- male
- female
-
protecting
- male
-
provisioning
-
pre-independence
-
provisioning
- male
- female
-
protecting
- male
- female
-
provisioning
Lifespan/Longevity
Western tanagers have been known to live up to 15.3 years, but their average life
span is around 8 years. In addition to predation, mortality can also be caused by
food deprivation resulting from severe weather.
Behavior
Western tanager migrate long distances and migrate alone, in pairs, or in groups of
about 30. Migration occurs at night, at very high altitudes. They form loose associations
with other bird species such as
Townsend's warblers
,
purple finches
, and
mountain chickadees
. Males chase other males that intrude in their territory and females chase other
females. Western tanagers also charge at smaller birds and physical contact is sometimes
made due to the reaction of the startled victim. Western tanagers can be difficult
to spot because they forage in the upper branches of trees and move slowly and deliberately,
but in flight they are swift and direct.
- Key Behaviors
- arboreal
- flies
- diurnal
- crepuscular
- motile
- migratory
Home Range
There are a few studies of home territories for western tanagers. A conifer forest
in Idaho averaged a home range size of 39,100 square meters, while in Montana; they
have an average home range of 28,300 square meters.
Communication and Perception
Western tanagers generally communicate through song. Their song is similar to
American robins'
, but pauses after each phrase and sounds more hoarse. Their calls are short and explosive
and used by both sexes and their young. The young sound more musical, while the female
is less eloquent. Her song is more repetitive, with an average of 2 to 5 phrases.
Males have more articulated and more frequent vocalizations, with 4 to 7 song phrases.
Males sing primarily on the breeding grounds. Males are attracted to the playback
of female songs and males will also counter-sing when they hear neighboring males.
Song rates are most frequent in the morning and slowly decrease during the day. When
a female perceives a threat, she gives a series of nervous calls. When the male hears
the nervous call of his mate, he gives a loud series of nervous calls and flies from
branch to branch.
- Communication Channels
- acoustic
- Other Communication Modes
- choruses
Food Habits
Western tanagers are insectivores and catch insects while they are in flight.
Vespid wasps
are not eaten by other migratory birds, but are often preferred by western tanagers.
They also eat fruits and nectar from plants. During the winter they eat both insects
and fruit.
- Primary Diet
- carnivore
- Animal Foods
- insects
- Plant Foods
- fruit
- nectar
- sap or other plant fluids
Predation
There are several birds that prey on western tanagers. Common predators are
hawks
,
owls
, and
jays
. Nest predators include
owls
,
jays
,
black bears
,
prairie rattlesnakes
,
bull snakes
,
common ravens
,
American crows
,
squirrels
, and even
domestic cats
. Their anti-predator adaptations include tail cocking, wing flapping, and loud nervous
calls. Western tanagers swoop towards intruders when they are too close to their nest.
Ecosystem Roles
Western tanagers are prey for many birds and mammals.
Brown-headed cowbirds
are known to parasitize western tanager nests and also reduce the number of western
tanagers that are able to fledge per nest. Western tanagers are known to mob cowbirds,
but cowbirds are still able to remove some of the western tanagers' eggs and lay their
own. After hatching, western tanagers will raise the cowbirds to fledging.
Blowfly
larvae are also known to subcutaneously invade fledglings, which results in death.
- Brown-headed cowbirds ( Molothrus aster )
- Blowfly larvae ( Calliphoridae )
Economic Importance for Humans: Positive
Western tanagers are known to eat several insects and are viewed as a form of pest
control for humans.
- Positive Impacts
- controls pest population
Economic Importance for Humans: Negative
There are no known negative effects of western tanagers on humans.
Conservation Status
Western tanagers are not threatened, in fact, the species has a large range. Western
tanagers are protected under the U.S. Migratory Bird Act.
Other Comments
Western tanagers have a red pigment on their faces caused by rhodoxanthin, a pigment
that is very rare in birds. This pigmentation comes from the insects western tanagers
eat, and the insects acquire it from plants. Their yellow color originates from the
melanin pigmented by carotenoids.
Additional Links
Contributors
Jeneil Boles (author), University of Wyoming, Hayley Lanier (editor), University of Wyoming - Casper, Leila Siciliano Martina (editor), Texas State University.
- Nearctic
-
living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- Ethiopian
-
living in sub-Saharan Africa (south of 30 degrees north) and Madagascar.
- introduced
-
referring to animal species that have been transported to and established populations in regions outside of their natural range, usually through human action.
- Neotropical
-
living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.
- native range
-
the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.
- tropical
-
the region of the earth that surrounds the equator, from 23.5 degrees north to 23.5 degrees south.
- terrestrial
-
Living on the ground.
- taiga
-
Coniferous or boreal forest, located in a band across northern North America, Europe, and Asia. This terrestrial biome also occurs at high elevations. Long, cold winters and short, wet summers. Few species of trees are present; these are primarily conifers that grow in dense stands with little undergrowth. Some deciduous trees also may be present.
- forest
-
forest biomes are dominated by trees, otherwise forest biomes can vary widely in amount of precipitation and seasonality.
- scrub forest
-
scrub forests develop in areas that experience dry seasons.
- mountains
-
This terrestrial biome includes summits of high mountains, either without vegetation or covered by low, tundra-like vegetation.
- riparian
-
Referring to something living or located adjacent to a waterbody (usually, but not always, a river or stream).
- monogamous
-
Having one mate at a time.
- iteroparous
-
offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).
- seasonal breeding
-
breeding is confined to a particular season
- sexual
-
reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female
- oviparous
-
reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.
- altricial
-
young are born in a relatively underdeveloped state; they are unable to feed or care for themselves or locomote independently for a period of time after birth/hatching. In birds, naked and helpless after hatching.
- male parental care
-
parental care is carried out by males
- female parental care
-
parental care is carried out by females
- arboreal
-
Referring to an animal that lives in trees; tree-climbing.
- diurnal
-
- active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
- crepuscular
-
active at dawn and dusk
- motile
-
having the capacity to move from one place to another.
- migratory
-
makes seasonal movements between breeding and wintering grounds
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- choruses
-
to jointly display, usually with sounds, at the same time as two or more other individuals of the same or different species
- carnivore
-
an animal that mainly eats meat
- insectivore
-
An animal that eats mainly insects or spiders.
- endothermic
-
animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.
- bilateral symmetry
-
having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.
- visual
-
uses sight to communicate
- tactile
-
uses touch to communicate
- acoustic
-
uses sound to communicate
- chemical
-
uses smells or other chemicals to communicate
References
Birdlife International, 2012. " Piranga ludoviciana " (On-line). The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Accessed November 06, 2013 at http://www.iucnredlist.org/details/22722471/0 .
Carlise, J., K. Olmstead, C. Richart, D. Swanson. 2012. Food availability, foraging behavior, and diet of autumn migrant landbirds in the Boise Foothills of Southwestern Idaho. The Condor , 114.3: 449-461.
Davis, C. 2001. "California Partners in Flight Coniferous Bird Conservation Plan for the Western Tanager ( Piranga ludoviciana )" (On-line). Accessed November 01, 2013 at http://www.prbo.org/calpif/htmldocs/species/conifer/wetacct.html .
Hudon, J. 1999. The Birds of North America . Philadelphia, PA: The Academy of Natural Sciences.
Hudon, J. 1991. Unusual carotenoid use by the western tanager ( Piranaga ludoviciana ) and its evolutionary implications. Canadian Journal of Zoology , 69: 2311-2320.
Lee, V. 2012. "Western Tanager Tags: Birds, Through the Looking Glass of Val Lee" (On-line). Accessed November 02, 2013 at http://birdsbyval.wordpress.com/2012/04/07/through-the-looking-glass-of-val-lee-western-tanager/ .
Magalhaes, J. 2012. "AnAge entry for Piranga ludoviciana " (On-line). The Animal Aging and Longevity Database. Accessed November 13, 2013 at http://genomics.senescence.info/species/entry.php?species=Piranga_ludoviciana .
Meyer, R. 2006. "Fire Effects Information System" (On-line). Accessed November 04, 2013 at http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/ .
Monroy-Ojeda, A., M. Grosselet, G. Ruiz, E. Del Valle. 2013. Winter site fidelity and winter residency of six migratory neotropical species in Mexico. The Wilson Journal of Ornithology , 125.1: 192 -196.
Samuel, M., D. Pierce, E. Garton. 1985. Identifying areas of concentrated use within the home range. Journal of Animal Ecology , 54: 711-719.
Stalling, D. 2012. "Montana Outdoors Portrait: Western Tanager Piranga ludoviciana " (On-line). Accessed November 04, 2013 at http://fwp.mt.gov/mtoutdoors/HTML/articles/portraits/2012/westerntanager.htm#.UniHkfmsj5w .
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology. 2013. "Western Tanager" (On-line). All About Birds. Accessed November 24, 2013 at http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/western_tanager/id .